Brighter Whites and Colors

Over time, everyone's laundry gets a bit dingy. Colors fade or run together, whites start to yellow, darks turn grey. Here are a few great tips on getting your laundry back to peak performance!

Make your whites whiter
You don't have to use bleach to get your whites bright again. In fact, for some stains, like sweat and yellowing on white sheets, bleach will make it worse!

• Soak a load with a hot water and a cup of baking soda, either for a few hours or overnight, before washing as usual.
• Vinegar is amazing for removing colors that have run together, removing extra detergent from your clothing and restoring fabric softness to new. Add a cup to the rinse cycle.
• Hydrogen peroxide can be found in liquid (first aid aisle) or in a powder (OxyClean). Add a 1/2 cup of liquid or follow directions for powdered and soak overnight before washing like normal.
• Bluing agent is a non-toxic alternative to bleach. It's an old trick but a good one. Adding a small amount of blue to your wash makes yellowed colors appear white again.
• Run an extra rinse cycle to make sure any dirty wash water is completely rinsed out. You don't need to do this every time, but once in a while it helps to keep your whites looking extra clean.

Preserve your colors

• Add 2 cups of coffee or strong tea to the rinse cycle for dark laundry. This will help restore the rich color back to black.
• Soak new clothes in salt water or vinegar when you first get them to lock in the dye. Vinegar during the wash cycle can also keep colors from running, just add to the wash cycle.
• Wash in cold water. Heat damages dye, and your clothes will get just as clean in cold water.
• Line dry your clothes. Again, heat damages dye! If you can line dry or lay your clothes flat to dry, you can avoid your clothes wearing out too quickly.
• Turn your clothes inside-out. Dye on the inside will stay more intact than the side exposed directly to the wash. This is especially helpful for jeans.

Until next time, keep it clean!